Most vehicles (e.g., automobiles) produced today employ internal combustion engines, which consume liquid fuel (e.g., gasoline) during operation. Generally, a vehicle is equipped with a fuel monitoring system, which monitors the amount of liquid fuel remaining within a fuel storage tank. Such a fuel monitoring system may include a processor, a float-based fuel level sensor, and a fuel gauge, which may be mounted near the vehicle's instrument control panel. The float-based sensor measures the relative height of the fuel's upper surface (the “fuel level”) and conveys this measurement to the processor, which updates the fuel gauge accordingly.
While conventional fuel monitoring systems of the type described above generally provide an accurate indication of the amount of fuel remaining in the vehicle's storage tank, this may not always be the case. For example, if the vehicle comes to an abrupt stop (or performs a similar maneuver), the stored fuel may splash about within storage tank for a brief period of time (referred to herein as “fuel slosh”) during which the float-based sensor may produce inaccurate readings. In addition, when the vehicle is located on a gradient, the fuel storage tank becomes tilted and the fuel stored therein flows to a low point in the fuel storage tank (referred to herein as “fuel displacement”). This again may cause the float-based sensor to produce inaccurate readings. While certain algorithms have been developed that may reduce system inaccuracies due to fuel slosh, such algorithms are generally unable to compensate for accuracies introduced by fuel displacement, which may last for a considerably longer period of time (e.g., as when the vehicle is parked on a hillside).
Considering the above, it should be appreciated that it is desirable to provide a system and a method for accurately monitoring the volume of fuel (or fuel level) remaining within a vehicle's storage tank. It would further be desirable if such a system and method were capable of significantly decreasing errors caused by fuel slosh and fuel displacement. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.